SageTV and DirecTV

[George M]

I am having trouble understanding the connection of Sage and DirecTV.

Can I connect my DirecTV to Sage and be able to record on Sage the channels I have subscribed to with DirecTV? Or would it be only the OTA local stations?

If so, how are the connections made?

Thanks
George M

[GKusnick]

For DirecTV, the HD-PVR is your only real option for recording in HD.

If you don't mind recording in SD, you can connect the S-Video output of your DirecTV STB to an analog capture card, and change channels using an IR blaster or a Paterson Tech USB-to-serial device.

[George M]

Thanks, that's what I wanted to know.

Since I am only interested in HD, I will look into the HD-PVR.

George M

[zoundz]

FWIW, the DTV STB's can output the HD channels in squeezed SD simultaneous with the HD output. If you record this in SD using your regular SD cards in SageTV, the results, while not HD are more than acceptable for most viewing. Just use the fill aspect ratio and bingo - bogus HD. Avoids all the hassle and cost of HD-PVR and looks just fine most of the time. Of course YMMV and if you are an HD purist looking for 1080p kick-ass HD, then this solution will not appeal. If you just want to watch TV in 16x9 with relatively good quality, this might be a workable answer for you. Works for me. DirecTV's "HD-lite" isn't all that great to begin with.

[Polypro]

+1. I say to my self "that's pretty freakin' decent" at least once a week

I've had 2 HDPVR's still sitting in the box for over a year now. A large part is waiting on ShowAnalyzer accuracy/reliability...but the other is that S-Vid for the kid's ToonHD, and wife's HGTVHD, isn't bad.

P